Catholic priests in England and Wales are being issued photo cards, ending the days when a dog collar and an air of piety was enough to confirm their credentials.
The credit card-sized plastic document includes a passport-style photograph of the priest, an expiration date and a barcode that, when scanned, provides information about the holder. The cards are signed by the bishop of the priest’s diocese.
They replace the traditional letters of recommendation written in Latin, known as celebrities, which allow itinerant priests to say mass or go to confession in other parishes or dioceses.
“The church has always had a system for priests to travel, showing that they are in good standing,” said the Reverend Christopher Thomas, general secretary of the Catholic Church. Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales. “It’s a very old authorization system and we are modernizing it.”
He said dioceses had either issued the cards since the system was agreed earlier this year or were in the process of doing so. All clergy would soon become card-carrying priests, he added.
Cases of impostor priests were not uncommon, he said. In 2016, a Los Angeles man was jailed for the second time after being found guilty of pretend to be a priest. Erwin Mena, who called himself “padre”, heard confessions, performed weddings, held prayer meetings and cheated worshipers out of thousands of dollars.
Five years ago, a German dressed as a cardinal in order to mingle with the real cardinals gathered in the Vatican to elect a new pope. Ralph Napierski, who called himself Basilius, was scolded when security officials noticed his cassock was too short.
Some Catholics wear a ID card bearing their name and the words “I am a Catholic. In case of accident or emergency, please contact a Catholic priest.
